Read: John 19:28-30
He said, “It is finished.” (v. 30)
At the culmination of the gospel story are Jesus’s words “It is finished.” And then death, and three days later, resurrection. The last words John records Jesus saying sum up Jesus’s mission, life, and the very events of his death and resurrection.
What is finished? What did Jesus accomplish on the cross and in the empty tomb? Nothing short of redemption, nothing short of salvation. In dying, Jesus put death to death, he conquered sin, and set free those who are in bondage. God’s whole mission of rescuing a lost and broken world he so loves is finished, accomplished in Jesus Christ dying on the cross and rising from the grave. It’s in the twin acts of dying and rising that Christ accomplished salvation for sinners. It’s in dying, in giving up his spirit for the sake of the lost, the broken, the guilty and shamed, that all of that old life is finished. And it’s in the resurrection, in rising from the grave, that our resurrection, our eternal life is promised and foreshadowed.
On the cross, redemption was accomplished, salvation was completed. It was finished, made perfect, made complete. There is nothing to be done, nothing to be added to what Christ has finished by dying and rising again. If we repent of our sin and trust in him, Jesus says, “It is finished.”
What is finished? Full redemption, God’s salvation. And for all who believe in Jesus, who belong to him, the Holy Spirit echoes Jesus words over every square inch of our existence—“It is finished.”
As you pray, thank Jesus for doing everything for your salvation.
About the Author
Stephen Shaffer is the pastor at Bethel Reformed Church in Brantford, Ontario.
